31 October 2011

Firsts on the Farm

Well, I still have no idea where my charger is and the camera has two dead batteries so you will just have to endure a no-new-picture post from me.

Late autumn is officially upon us and not simply because today is a cross-quarter day. Yesterday morning there was a thin film of ice on the kiddie pool we use to provide drinking water to the chickens. Yep, first real frost of the season and it's a shade early to boot. The last tobacco plants are still ripening seed pods and have, thus far, survived the cold with a little protection. I might need to add more if they are to be successful.

Speaking of chickens, this was a momentous weekend in the evolution of my little project! I sold my first batch of eggs to the Harvest Moon Store in Floyd. That makes Sal's Ethical Eggs (named for our favorite hen, Salvadora) a legit undertaking. The manager, Sylvia, loved the name and my home made carton labels, which show Mme. Salvadora and describe the conditions on which the Clucker's Union would consent to their produce being sold. I can't use the O-word because we've not gotten certified but I can give enough information for a reasonable person to put two and two together.

The label reads:

Sal’s Ethical Eggs

From freely roaming, rooster loving, organic-feed-eating, super happy, self-actualized chickens of several breeds old and new.

I've had to restrain myself from going down to see how many they've sold. Right now the girls are giving us 9 dozen a week, plus a few, but the leghorns have just started laying so I'll have 18-20 dozen soon!

2 comments:

Congratulations to Sal and all her sisters out there in the yard! They've managed to get their business out of the nest so to speak (with your help!) I love your labels. At my co-op eggs are labeled and segregated into categories: Organic, pasture raised, free ranging and cage free...I had to explain to someone the last time I was there just what all those nuances were!